Maturing Patel determined to prove himself

At 20 and poised on the threshold of his first extensive first-class and one-day season, Wellington off-spinner Jeetan Patel manifests many of the quirks which flood the personalities older, more time-worn bowlers.

There are traits in all bowlers so deeply-rooted and so general that they have become proverbial. Among them are the belief that at any time and in any match they, more than anyone else, should be trusted with the ball and, looming larger, the wounded perception that they are under-rated as batsmen.

Patel is marked as one of the brethren simply by his possession of those qualities. He will bowl at any time in any innings and for any number of overs and, though he bats 11 for Wellington and is also "Jack" for his Eastern Suburbs club side, he believes his batting in an unrecognised strength of his game.

Patel was named on Thursday by coach Vaughn Johnson among Wellington's 12-man squad for this season's Trophy matches, and given the balance of the squad which features seamers Carl Bulfin, James Franklin and Mark Gillespie, he seems likely to take a major share of the bowling duties.

Patel divided his time last season between Wellington's Trophy matches and a stint at the New Zealand Cricket Academy which, he believes, improved both his understanding of spin bowling and his ability. He hopes to have the opportunity throughout the Trophy season but also in Cup matches to demonstrate that improvement.

One of Patel's greatest assets, something demonstrated in Wellington's two-day and one-day Trophy warm-ups against New South Wales this week, is his confidence. He bowled 16 overs into a blustery northerly during New South Wales' only innings in the two-day match at the Basin Reserve, taking the wickets of Michael Clarke and the century-maker Phil Jaques for only 40 runs and he opened the bowling in the one-dayer at the WestpacTrust Stadium, taking 2-50 from nine overs.

Patel was more than happy with the two-day workout and hopes his one-day form will encourage Johnson and Wellington captain Matthew Bell to consider him as a viable bowling option in the Cup series.

"I was quite happy with all the work I got against New South Wales," Patel said. "There were a few things I was trying to work out and I'm happy with what I got done. Probably because I am going to try a few things, some things go wrong at times. Maybe I should be more careful but I like to find out what works and what doesn't. Now I can sit down and figure out a plan with Vaughn and Matthew and use that in the Trophy."

Among the most impressive facets of Patel's bowling over the three-days of the New South Wales matches were his willingness to flight the ball. He can bowl a flatter, faster trajectory on slower wickets but he likes to put as much work on the ball as possible and toss it up to the batsman.

Patel's selection for Wellington coincides with the announcement of a Wellington Living Legends team, comprising the best players who have appeared for the province in its 125 years. To qualify, a bowler had to have taken more than 100 first-class wickets and one of the features of the side was the relative scarcity of spinners who have done so.

In that light, Patel's selection at such an early age and which such a potentially long career in store is both rare and promising.

The scarcity of spin bowlers in Wellington has left him with few direct mentors, though he has spoken with Evan Gray, who made the Living Legends squad, and has attempted to contact Dipak Patel as an adisor on technique. Otherwise, Patel names Johnson and Academy coach Mike Shrimpton as major influences on his career.

"Vaughn has influenced me a lot and taught me a lot. He tells me where I'm going wrong and Mike Shrimpton has been great. Before I went to the Academy I would talk to Vaughn a lot but up till then I was pretty much teaching myself."

In keeping with the experience of many spin bowlers, Patel started out wanting to bowl fast and was chosen for the Wellington under-14 rep squad as a medium pacer. But he began to fool around in school matches with spin bowling, carried on with that experimentation in the nets and eventually was encouraged into the spinners' role in under-16 rep play.

"There's a heck of a lot to learn about spin bowling and I have a lot of maturing to do," Patel said. "I'm still a youngster and not as mature as a lot of spinners in New Zealand but I would still back myself against many more mature players."

That same confidence, that same determination to prove himself manifests itself in Patel's attitude to his batting.

"I rate myself," he said. "I don't want to be a number 11. I really think I could bat six, seven or eight in the Trophy side. All I need is a bit of experience and a lot of time in the nets. I know at batsman's got to bat and a bowlers' got to bowl but I reckon I can make a contribution with the bat if I'm given the chance. The problem is that as a number 11, and I also bat "Jack" for my club side, I never really get the time or the chance to show what I can do."

But it's an impressive part of Patel's character that he has such an emphasis on improving all of his cricketing skills.

"I'm really looking forward to this season," he said. "I feel I can learn a lot and contribute a lot."